Letters to the Editor Dear U of A Engineer: The ad on the back cover of the U of A Engineer, Winter 2003 edition prompted me to write you. I only wish such student projects as designing cars were available when I went through engineering 50 years ago. I have followed with interest such student projects as the solar car and the FutureTruck Ford SUV fuel efficiency modification. I was less impressed to see the racing car (the Formulae SAE). Now, I know that a lot of engineering design goes into a vehicle of this type, but I believe this work is best left to the professional racing community. What is needed is more innovative design of extremely efficient, safe, minimal weight transportation vehicles. I’m sure readers are aware of the hope provided by hydrogen as fuel and fuel cells and perhaps readers are as concerned as I am about the time to elapse until any appreciable environmental relief will be provided. The University could help by researching the design of a two-person, lightweight, safe, hydrocarbon-powered, and extremely efficient highway vehicle to mitigate environmental damage over the intervening years. Such a vehicle would be marketable as fuel costs become more onerous. The American Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) has developed the concept of the “Hypercar” which goes further than the design innovations of the Honda “Insite” and the Toyota “Prius”. With the Hypercar, RMI indicates that at least 80 m.p.g. and possibly up to 200 m.p.g. is achievable. Engineering staff and students may research details of the Hypercar concept at the RMI website: www.rmi.org. It would be wonderful if my alma mater could contribute to this gratifying research. Yours truly,
W. E. Stollery, PEng (Civil ’51)
Dear Mr. W. E. Stollery: Mr. Stollery writes to express appreciation of student vehicle projects such as FutureTruck and Solar Car, which highlight environmentally friendly vehicles. Vehicle design projects are a great way to get student engineers focused both on the problems and on developing new solutions. (They are also a good measure of quality for our program and students when our teams rank highly against major international universities.) While appreciating some projects, Mr. Stollery expresses concern that the Formula SAE (FSAE) race car project misses the mark and he points at the “Hypercar” concept proposed by Rocky Mountain Institute as a better paradigm. Should our students participate in Formula SAE? While the product produced in FSAE is a sort of a race car, the project is actually one of the most thorough in terms of automotive engineering. FSAE is a true design competition emphasizing development of a light, safe, economical car that could be successfully manufactured and marketed. The automotive industry is eager to find students with those particular design skills and their active recruitment efforts show why they support the competition even though they don't sell race cars. Beyond this, it is interesting to note that this year's U of A entry in Formula SAE actually put many attributes of RMI's theoretical Hypercar onto the road, including a small efficient engine, infinitely variable transmission, ultra-light safety frame and low-mass carbon fibre body. And, while the U of A team didn't win this year's competition, they showed what could be done using a renewable biofuel (ethanol) and they set the standard for the best fuel economy. From U of A students, we would expect nothing less. Yours truly,
Dr. Dave Checkel
4
U of A
Engineer
Formula SAE race car.